Uncle Walt's Insider Page 192 – Uncle Walt's Insider

St. Louis adds a second arch, sponsored by McDonald's. Photo by AfricanGeo [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons, modified.

Corporate sponsorship enables second Gateway Arch

McDonald's selfless gift to the city of St. Louis also includes coloring both arches gold. ST. LOUIS, MO -- The Gateway Arch has stood for over fifty years on the banks of the Mississippi River. And now, thanks to a generous gift from the McDonald's Corporation, it will have a twin. "As the original arch celebrates the western expansion of the United States," McDonald's spokesperson Jeremy Burger (no relation) tells Uncle Walt's Insider, "so the new arch celebrates the expansion of America's economy ...

August 3, 2018 by Marty in Other, World

A churro cart at Disney's California Adventure. Photo copyright 2018 Google / Street View.

Man using Street View billed for ‘virtual park admission’

Disney hails "virtual guests" as new revenue stream. PROVO, UT -- It's a fact of modern life that every one of us clicks to accept Terms of Service without reading or understanding what we are agreeing to. One Utah man found out the hard way that he should always read the fine print. The next best thing to being there? Edgar "Sonny" Larson of Provo, UT, recently had some time to kill, so he opened up Google Maps on his computer. As a Disney ...

August 2, 2018 by Marty in Florida

Pal Mickey repurposed as TV remote

Batteries not included. PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI -- A self-described "Disney geek -- well, really, more of an overall geek" from a small town somewhat near Detroit has found a way to rescue her old Pal Mickey. Braidy Abelli, 23, says that the modification was "not really all that difficult." What is Pal Mickey? Back in the Early 2000's, Disney sold a plush Mickey toy known as Pal Mickey. But this was not just any plush mouse! Pal Mickey was an interactive toy, containing a ...

August 1, 2018 by X in Other

Audio-animatronic of Jar Jar Binks arrives at Disneyland Park.

Animatronic Jar Jar arrives at Disneyland

Everyone's least favorite character will help keep crowds down. ANAHEIM, CA -- Another milestone in the construction of the new Star Wars-themed land at Disneyland Park: the arrival of a Jar Jar Binks audio-animatronic character. The life-size figure of the annoying Gungan will be positioned in the main entrance to the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge area, interacting with guests, telling bad jokes, and occasionally singing. And the placement is apparently intentional. Crowd control "We anticipate huge numbers of people trying to pack into Galaxy's Edge ...

July 31, 2018 by Marty in California

Artist's concept of Walt Disney World dome with color-change technology.

Disney experiments with various sky colors

More new technology for the Florida resort! WALT DISNEY WORLD, FL -- There are scores of eager Disney fans who watch government offices for permit filings and patent applications, hoping to discover the "next big thing" Disney does before any official announcement -- as they did with the new Skyliner gondola system last year. Those fans may have just uncovered another amazing technology coming to the Walt Disney World Resort: changeable sky colors! As Uncle Walt's Insider's regular readers [Ed.: all four of you] ...

July 30, 2018 by Marty in Florida